The Marine Museum at Fall River is a cultural gem and contains a wealth of Fall River Maritime History especially Steam Ship and Titanic memorabilia. Discover the art, books, models and many treasures the Marine Museum holds. This is a must see
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The Marine Museum at Fall River is a cultural gem and contains a wealth of Fall River Maritime History especially Steam Ship and Titanic memorabilia. Discover the art, books, models and many treasures the Marine Museum holds. This is a must see resource for landlubbers and mariners alike.

Carol Gafford is a public librarian, family historian, amateur archivist and book savior. She is currently the youth services/outreach librarian at the Swansea Public Library and volunteers for several museum and historical societies including the Marine Museum at Fall River, the Swansea Historical Society and the Bristol Historical and Preservation society. She is the editor of Past Times, the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists and is always looking for a new project to take on.

BOSTON — Phil Kessel knew he was a wanted man. He walked into the Maple Leafs’ dressing room after their morning skate Wednesday and saw a horde of reporters huddled around various lockers talking to his teammates.

The Toronto media contingent in Boston to cover the Leafs’ first playoff series in nine years is massive. The Boston media is no small group itself.

All of those people wanted to speak to Kessel, and for obvious reasons — he’s making his first playoff appearance in four high-profile years with the Leafs, and he’s doing it against the team that traded him to Toronto in 2009.

So as Kessel walked into the room, he noticed there was an opening by the wall across from his stall. He grabbed a hat in his locker, then walked across the room and politely answered the questions he declined to take two days ago in Toronto.

Often difficult with the media in his career, Kessel wasn’t exactly effusive, but showed a maturity that’s often been missing. He was asked about the jeers he’s heard in previous games in Boston and can expect to hear at TD Garden when he takes the ice Wednesday night for Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

“It’s fine,” Kessel said. “I like it here. I had three great years here. Great memories. They were great to me when I was here. I figure, when you leave you’re always going to get the grief so it’s OK. But I enjoyed playing here and they had great fans. I think it’s going to be a good atmosphere tonight.”

Kessel is coming off the best regular season of his career, overcoming a slow start to amass 52 points in 48 games and finish seventh in the league in scoring. Over a full season, he was on pace for 89 points; his 82 points last season are a career high.

Now he’s in the postseason for the first time since he was traded in September 2009, when he wouldn’t agree to a contract with the Bruins as a restricted free agent.

“It’s going to be fun, right?” Kessel said. “Obviously I’m excited. It’s a good opportunity for myself and the team. We haven’t been in the playoffs for a while, so we’re looking to have a good time out there tonight.”

Kessel played in two playoffs in his three years with the Bruins. After a 19-goal regular season in 2008, he was a healthy scratch for Games 2-4 in the Bruins’ seven-game first-round loss to the Canadiens. He returned in Game 5 and scored three goals in the next two games.

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The next year, he scored 36 goals and had 11 points in 11 playoff games. Being benched by Claude Julien has been cited as a reason Kessel wouldn’t sign with the Bruins, but it also may have spurred him to getting to the next level.

“I don’t know,” Kessel said when asked if the scratch helped him. “That was a long time ago, right? Obviously you never want to get scratched, but it happened and you move on.”

Kessel was criticized Monday after declining to speak to Toronto reporters. It doesn’t look good when your leading scorer refuses to speak days before your first playoff appearance in nearly a decade and he’s going against his old team. General manager Dave Nonis said it wouldn’t happen again.

“It’s never been me to (think) much of the attention,” Kessel said. “I’ll talk when I have to talk and that’s about it.”

Finally speaking Wednesday, Kessel began basically every answer to a question about his Boston days with a variation of, “That was a long time ago.”

It was, but based on what he said and more importantly how he said it, he may finally be breaking away from that reputation he developed here. Now it's about doing it on the ice.